Many parties and gatherings use balloons to enhance the atmosphere of the party. These balloons often have various decorations thereon that fit the theme of the party. A birthday party is one example of a party that uses a multiplicity of balloons.
Furthermore, balloons are often used to convey a message, such as a birthday greeting or the like.
While balloons have a myriad of uses, there is one factor which is common to all such uses. To wit: the balloons must generally be inflated to achieve the desired effect. This may not be a problem of only one or two balloons are use; however, if there are a great number of balloons, such factor can be an annoyance or an inhibition to the use of balloons.
Therefore, the art has included several examples of devices for inflating balloons. Such devices generally attach the uninflated balloon to a source of pressurized gas, such a Helium. The source of gas is generally spaced from the balloon, contains enough gas for a multitude of balloons and includes a special valve to which the balloon is manually attached for inflation and from which the inflated balloon is manually detached after inflation. An example of such devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,322.
While effective, such devices are often expensive and generally are not designed for use by children. Such designs thereby preclude one source of fun and entertainment at a party while keeping the job of inflating balloons in the category of drudgery.
While the art also includes devices for inflating signal balloons, see for example the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,229, or for inflating devices such as life preservers, see for example the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,599, such devices are intended for a one-time only use and are designed for ruggedness and reliability as opposed to multiple uses which are intended to be entertaining.
Therefore, there is a need for a balloon inflating device which is easy and fun to use especially for children and which can be re-used.